Ukraine's military prosecutor arrested in absentia in Russia for illegal criminal charges

The military prosecutor is head of the group investigating the case on treason of Ukraine’s former President Viktor Yanukovich

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MOSCOW, July 23. /TASS/. Moscow's Basmanny Court sanctioned arrest in absentia of Ukraine's Prosecutor of the Chief Military Prosecution Ruslan Kravchenko and Investigator for particularly important cases of the Prosecutor General's Office Vadim Priymachok, charged with prosecution of a person who is knowingly innocent of criminal responsibility, the Court's Press Secretary Yunona Tsareva told TASS on Sunday.

"At the request from the investigator, the court chose in relation to Kravchenko and Priymachok, who are on the international wanted list, a preventive measure in the form of detention in absentia," she said.

The press secretary said the charges presented to Kravchenko and Priymachok are under the Criminal Code’s article on criminal charges and illegal criminal case accusing a person of grave or especially grave crime. The responsibility under this article is between five and ten years in prison. The press secretary said she did not have details on the criminal case.

The media reported earlier, Military Prosecutor Kravchenko and investigator Priymachok were probing in Ukraine into a criminal case against Russia’s Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu. Besides, the military prosecutor is head of the group investigating the case on treason of Ukraine’s former President Viktor Yanukovich.

The treason case

In March 2017, Military Prosecutor’s Office submitted to court an indictment against Yanukovich. He was accused of committing crimes specified, in particular, in Ukrainian criminal laws on high treason and violation of territorial supremacy and inviolability of the country. Kiev’s Obolonsky District Court satisfied the motion of the prosecutor’s office regarding the organization of absentee court proceedings into Yanukovich’s high treason, despite the fact that the former president had expressed readiness to take part in the process in the form of an inter-court assistance.

On July 5, the former president voiced his decision to give up participation in the ongoing court proceedings in Kiev, that accused him of high treason, and withdraw his lawyers. He believes that "all possible principles and norms of law were violated, Ukraine’s Constitution was desecrated, and the rules of proceedings are being totally neglected" at the proceedings, whereas the court’s ruling "was determined beforehand." Yanukovich was later allowed a state lawyer for his defense in court. The next hearing on the case will take place on August 3.